Are social media and an online marketing strategy a good investment of time and money?

It should come as no surprise that the proliferation of social media has turned social networking into an important business tool. And with each year that passes, more and more social networking sites have cropped up, each with unique opportunities to market a business or product. The problem is: you only need to master them. No big deal, right? (I’m kidding).

Is it possible these days to grow an online business without an online marketing strategy –including all the liking, blogging, sharing and tweeting? After all, it’s time consuming! And for a SMB (small to mid-size business), traditionally run by a tiny staff (>10), it’s nearly impossible to both run a successful business and a successful social media campaign (I speak from experience!). Plus, would the time invested (hours and hours) justify the opportunity cost? What’s the return on investment? Or suppose you don’t social strategize, will it mean you get left behind as your competitors flourish?

There are platforms out there that promise to save you time; like Tweet Deck, which links all your social media sites into one. But even with those platforms, there’s a big learning curve. Not to mention that social networks are not created equal (they are not homogenous); LinkedIn isn’t Twitter. Twitter isn’t Facebook. Figuring out one platform doesn’t mean you know how to use them all –they are each unique and have a different purpose entirely.

What’s more, businesses themselves are not created equal; for example a successful online strategy for an apparel company would not translate well for a technology services business. Each business is unique and online marketing and social media isn’t a one-size fit all.

So should you spend time figuring it out? And if so, what impact would all those hours behind the computer have on your life as a living social being? Meaning, in the flesh with others.

What I can share from my personal experience with online marketing strategy, is that most people don’t have what it takes to really make a digital splash; mainly because it requires both a well thought through strategy and also a large investment of time; which most people or unable or unwilling to make.

Here’s what most people don’t know: there’s an emerging industry of people who have figured it out; people who know what works and what doesn’t; these folks are called internet marketing strategists, and they can help you navigate to an online marketing strategy that will fit in best with your time and budget constraints. The right consultant can perform a comprehensive online overhaul and use strategic combinations of various marketing initiatives (picked specifically for your business), to monetize your website, your business or your product. It’s a great alternative to trying to figure it out on your own. Learn more.

As Osama news broke Sunday, I posted a link in my Link Roundup to a TechCrunch story on Bin Laden’s death spreading like wildfire on Twitter. It all started with a little tweet and the topic was trending on Twitter within minutes.

12 hour later, there are Facebook pages galore celebrating the death of the terrorist leader (I quite appreciate how anyone can make a viral shrine of just about anything). Adorned with American Flags, my personal favorite: Osama Bin Laden Being Dead. When you like the page, your status update reads: ‘John Doe likes Osama Bin Laden Being Dead.’ The Osama Bin Laden Being Dead Facebook page has 66,708 likes as of 5/2/2011, 2:46PM EST. It will be interesting to see how that numbers grows virally by the time this post publishes at 9AM Tuesday morning (5/3/2011). Update: 99,334 likes as of 9:04AM EST.

Note that there are tons of other Facebook pages with hundreds and thousands of likes, all touting Bin Laden’s death. The walls of these pages have become shrines, with some users posting special eulogies to share their sentiments. On Twitter, hash tags ranging from #osama, #osamabinladen,﻿ #obl, #binladen and others are trending since last night. The news is also top in search on Google and other search engines.

All I can say is its absolutely INCREDIBLE how news goes viral these days: the speed, the ease, the accuracy. Thank you Social Media.